Foods of the World: American Cooking Southern Style

"TIME-LIFE FOODS OF THE WORLD"
1970s, Multiple Authors

Thanksgiving, it seems to me, is the most American of American holidays. And celebrating a change of seasons, the bountiful land and life in peace with all our neighbors, seems especially poignant to me these days. So, this week I chose the 1970s encyclopedic work by Time-Life -- "Foods of the World". This massive set includes the best recipes from regional America and around the world; a ground-breaking work in 27 volumes. Recipe booklets were coupled with a coffee-table style photographic essay with captivating narrative by the likes of M.F.K Fisher, James Beard, Craig Claiborne and Julia Child. The wire-bound recipe booklets are most sought after and still not too difficult to find.

The entire set includes the following:

American Cooking
American Cooking: Creole & Acadian
American Cooking: The Eastern Heartland
American Cooking: The Great West 
American Cooking: The Melting Pot 
American Cooking: New England 
American Cooking: The Northwest 
American Cooking: Southern Style 
The Cooking of the British Isles
The Cooking of the Caribbean Islands
The Cooking of China
The Cooking of Germany
The Cooking of India
The Cooking of Italy
The Cooking of Japan
The Cooking of Provincial France
The Cooking of Scandinavia
The Cooking of Spain & Portugal
The Cooking of Vienna's Empire 
African Cooking
Classic French Cooking
Russian Cooking
Latin American Cooking
Middle Eastern Cooking 
Pacific & Southeast Asian Cooking
A Quintet of Cuisines
Wines and Spirits

I will eventually post one recipe from each booklet. Meanwhile here's a Thanksgiving alternate to Pumpkin Pie from the American Cooking: Southern Style booklet.

[SWEET POTATO PIE RECIPE]

IS IT A YAM OR A SWEET POTATO?
(or trivia to entertain your Thanksgiving guests)... Likely, you have never even tasted a yam unless you are celebrating Thanksgiving in Africa, the yam's true home. Botanically, yams are not closely related to sweet potatoes, though they look a bit alike. Truly misnamed, the Garnet Yam, considered the sweetest of the varieties, is actually a sweet potato.

Peace.